LSU's Dorsey is the favorite, but Rams' choice isn't definite

Thursday

Apr 24, 2008 at 12:01 AM

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

With team President John Shaw scheduled to arrive in St. Louis in the wee hours last night, the Rams' draft preparations are entering the final phase. Rams coaches, scouts and personnel officials have finished stacking the team's draft board, round by round.

Shaw will be immersed in draft meetings today, discussing possible scenarios with Coach Scott Linehan, President of Football Operations-General Manager Jay Zygmunt, and Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Billy Devaney. Finally, the team is expected to zero in on its pick at No. 2 overall by tomorrow.

At this point, all signs seem to be pointing to Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey as the Rams' choice. But there is also sentiment for defensive end Chris Long of Virginia and to a lesser degree Ohio State's Vernon Gholston.

And as of last night, one team official said, "It's not a clear-cut choice."

Of course, a trade down looms as an additional option. There was speculation that the New York Jets might be interested in trading up to the Rams' spot in order to select Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. But yesterday was another quiet day at Rams Park, with team sources saying no phone calls came from other clubs regarding a potential deal.

The Rams did receive word from the NFL that they would not be able to negotiate with the No. 2 overall pick before drafting him.

"They cannot" negotiate), a league official told the Post-Dispatch via e-mail yesterday afternoon. "That has been our policy. Only the team with the first pick can negotiate and sign a player. We will re-evaluate that policy" in the future "to determine if any changes are warranted."

Technically, the Rams went on the clock Tuesday afternoon, when the Miami Dolphins turned in the paperwork to the NFL on the signing of University of Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long. The Dolphins, with the No. 1 overall pick, signed Long to a five-year contract worth a reported $57.5 million.

But even before the league's "no-negotiation" ruling, the Rams made it known that it was highly unlikely they would negotiate with their targeted player at No. 2 - much less have him signed to a contract - before the draft.

Linehan and Devaney were scheduled to answer draft questions late this morning at the team's pre-draft media luncheon then head back into the draft bunker on the second floor of Rams Park.

This will be the Rams' first draft under the supervision of Devaney. Although the decision-making will be done by consensus, Devaney will have a lot of input on draft day.

Before joining the Rams in February, Devaney had spent his past two seasons in Atlanta's front office. Although he didn't have final say on the Falcons' draft, his opinion was highly respected there.

Devaney was known as a "beast" on the phones, especially when it came to engineering trades. He was regarded as a driving force in the three-way trade with Denver and the New York Jets that brought John Abraham to Atlanta in March 2006. He also orchestrated a move-up in the second round of the 2006 draft for defensive back Jimmy Williams of Virginia Tech.

Devaney also is said to have a knack for finding late-round gems. Defensive tackle Trey Lewis of Washburn was drafted in the sixth round last season and was starting until a season-ending knee injury.